Roadhouse Garden

i think an official release of the cancelled "Crystal Ball" album would be very cool, with as close to the intended artwork as possible if there were plans. I'm sure it would have ended up looking like SOTT does.

ufoclub said:

i think an official release of the cancelled "Crystal Ball" album would be very cool, with as close to the intended artwork as possible if there were plans. I'm sure it would have ended up looking like SOTT does.

But what would be the point? With only 7 different tracks, it would just confuse casual and new fans. I think we'd be better served by a compilation pulling together material from that time period, ideally with indepth liner notes about the various projects and sessions.

TwiliteKid said:

ufoclub said:

i think an official release of the cancelled "Crystal Ball" album would be very cool, with as close to the intended artwork as possible if there were plans. I'm sure it would have ended up looking like SOTT does.

But what would be the point? With only 7 different tracks, it would just confuse casual and new fans. I think we'd be better served by a compilation pulling together material from that time period, ideally with indepth liner notes about the various projects and sessions.

The point would be the same for us as having it on bootleg: an opportunity to hear it as intended at some specific point. I agree that a mainstream release would make no sense though, but maybe as part of an overprices multi CD release showing all the configs that led to SOTT from DF 1, 2 & 3 to Camille to CB, or more simply on digital only, for the hardcore fans only to purchase.

databank said:

Beyond greatest hits and deluxe versions of maybe PR, 1999, SOTT, D&P and Musicology, then the value of the vault is not about volume, but steady income from core die hards and limited edition products.

With the vault being so vast, I think the clever move would be a reformation of the NPGMC. An annual subscription service, where CD's would be one off runs for members only.

They could put out plenty of 'Best of the Vaults' to retail but hard core fans are generally collectors and completists. They could release a live CD every month, and a concept album or outakes album every 6.

That would keep them going for 30 years at least.

Digital could still be available for general release, but the money is in the exclusivity of a small hardcore.

If I could bag a well polished new Prince CD every month, they would take me for thousands.

3rdeyeboy said:

Beyond greatest hits and deluxe versions of maybe PR, 1999, SOTT, D&P and Musicology, then the value of the vault is not about volume, but steady income from core die hards and limited edition products.

With the vault being so vast, I think the clever move would be a reformation of the NPGMC. An annual subscription service, where CD's would be one off runs for members only.

They could put out plenty of 'Best of the Vaults' to retail but hard core fans are generally collectors and completists. They could release a live CD every month, and a concept album or outakes album every 6.

That would keep them going for 30 years at least.

Digital could still be available for general release, but the money is in the exclusivity of a small hardcore.

If I could bag a well polished new Prince CD every month, they would take me for thousands.

What I wonder is how many of us actually still purchase CD's at all. I know there's a strong pro-physical community on the org and that we're getting, well... old. But I'm 40 and none, and I say none of the people my age or younger that I know still purchase physical releases. And I know many people (as in hundreds). Well, not true: my DJ friends purchase vinyls, but that's because they're DJ's. And all those kids we've seen popping up on the Org over the last few months: do they even know what a CD is?

I know there will probably still be a niche market for CD's for a few more decades but one CD a month? On the other hand I believe it is now possible to print 1000 copies of a CD for very cheap so maybe like that? After all bootleggers and very small labels are able to make dough with very limited releases, but we're talking pocket money here. And when it comes to expensive deluxe products IDK if the people who'd be interested in it could follow too many things being out, I mean financially speaking.

What I could see is

- Mainstream releases about once a year on cheap physical.

- Expensive deluxe packages about once a year for the hardcore.

- The rest, again for the hardcore, more frequent (could indeed be once a month or even more with live shows and rehearsals) but digital only.

.

I wish we knew what the estate has in mind.

TwiliteKid said:

TwiliteKid said:

ufoclub said:

ufoclub said:

TwiliteKid said:

ufoclub said:

TwiliteKid said:

Any "new" never been released music will garnish media attention.

3rdeyeboy said:

Beyond greatest hits and deluxe versions of maybe PR, 1999, SOTT, D&P and Musicology, then the value of the vault is not about volume, but steady income from core die hards and limited edition products.

With the vault being so vast, I think the clever move would be a reformation of the NPGMC. An annual subscription service, where CD's would be one off runs for members only.

They could put out plenty of 'Best of the Vaults' to retail but hard core fans are generally collectors and completists. They could release a live CD every month, and a concept album or outakes album every 6.

That would keep them going for 30 years at least.

Digital could still be available for general release, but the money is in the exclusivity of a small hardcore.

If I could bag a well polished new Prince CD every month, they would take me for thousands.

That would take me for thousands too. A new service for the hardcore would definitely sustain a long-term income for the Estate providing it is run properly. It's the only way to really monetise the lions share of vault material.

Downloads would also be fine for me; I just want the opportunity to hear the material in good quality.

the only albums i want them to release is albums prince finished and filed away.

beyond that, i'd just like to see vault collections. like the beatles' anthology sets,
with outtakes and alternate versions spanning a certain era.

all those live shows, probably best to release them digital with perhaps limited
cd's like 1000 copies for each or something, through a kind of paisleyparkmc.

most general public money is to be had from really good remastered/deluxe
releases for all the warner albums with the option of a 2 disc or a 4 disc set.

post warners could be limited releases, perhaps, but most of those albums are
fine enough as they are soundwise and concerning left over material i think we
would be better off with anthology releases for that whole period.

I don't see how any physical release of songs/films/writings from the vault could ever be released without being attached to a more popular release (i.e. Sign O' the Times remastered deluxe edition). But I don't see why they couldn't make "finished" albums like '89 Rave available online for digital purchase. Well, besides that he might not have wanted them out there regardless.

radicalrojo said:

I don't see how any physical release of songs/films/writings from the vault could ever be released without being attached to a more popular release (i.e. Sign O' the Times remastered deluxe edition). But I don't see why they couldn't make "finished" albums like '89 Rave available online for digital purchase. Well, besides that he might not have wanted them out there regardless.

We really don't know that. Between 98 and 01 Prince seemed eager to begin releasing a lot of stuff from the vault, and then he abruptly stopped doing so, supposedly at WB's request because the WB years material was still tied to the label.

XSX said:

I'd like to see those finished projects 'wrapped' for release.
As to the rest, I'd love to see it opened, as per Paisley Park, as a resource, a research centre so one can go into it and listen to things, see notes attached from the period and from the archivists.

A kind of version of what happens to literary drafts and papers when authors die or when living authors donate their papers to a museum for researchers to access.

The format of posthumous 'Letters and Papers' is well established historically and, with Dylan having recently sold his version of the vault, prior to being elevated to Nobel Poet Laureate, his demos, notes, versions, whatever, are now part of this form of documentation.
While Prince's work may take decades to earn the same acclaim, it ultimately will and it seems to me that since PP is already a museum, that this kind of development is an appropriate 'shortcut' to that kind of positioning of his legacy.
It might be good to offer it as an online resource which would accord with his own pioneering of such in the 90's (Interactive etc) and it *might* be good to hold the unfinished vault stuff permanently and irrevocably away from 'release' by record companies in order to differentiate it, keep its integrity as unfinished activity. All of this would probably appeal to The Artist (sic) because no artist wants to have what was unfinished presented as 'product' and, indeed, the history of estates allowing this to happen with unfinished work has not resulted in praise or indeed even the reward of sales.

I'm sure this is among the options being considered and even if it isn't yet, I've no doubt that there will be approaches from universities and museums in due course which will result in PP thinking in that direction with at least some of the archive.

The term 'The Vault' has tended so far to place Prince's work in the metaphors of the music industry but as appreciation of themes and threads in his work grows in culture beyond fandom, I expect to see Prince's lyrical themes examined, for example as this is one of the very underrated aspects of his works, being as the musical/musicianship aspect is so energetically acclaimed.

He was a great writer.

[Edited 11/5/16 2:55am]

[Edited 11/5/16 3:01am]

Exactly this. It is awful that Prince has passed away but what maybe more awful is how his stuff is curated. In the imediate future WB and Family will be dealing with his commercial legacy. However I agree with you about themes etc. There is a long term opportunity here for prince's music to transcen Prince i.e. to keep his music alive that in a 100 yrs time his music is the sole source of analysis not stuff like transgender etc. That his music because a by word for excellence,scope,imagination. Not comparing but in the way people now say Mozart as a bi word for "classical" or "genius" without any reference to the man himself.

His music needs to be properly organised. What Prince thought about for a brief period and moved on is now feasibly in a position to be digested and reflected upon at a normal human pace. Not Prince's. We're mere mortals compared to his hare!

databank said:

radicalrojo said:

I don't see how any physical release of songs/films/writings from the vault could ever be released without being attached to a more popular release (i.e. Sign O' the Times remastered deluxe edition). But I don't see why they couldn't make "finished" albums like '89 Rave available online for digital purchase. Well, besides that he might not have wanted them out there regardless.

We really don't know that. Between 98 and 01 Prince seemed eager to begin releasing a lot of stuff from the vault, and then he abruptly stopped doing so, supposedly at WB's request because the WB years material was still tied to the label.

This is true. I'm sure material from the vault would have started showing up again anyways with his renewed relationship with WB. Though albums like Heart from the mid-ninties might have been too personal for him to have ever released. That's mainly the type of stuff I was thinking about.

#1 release hands down should be "Dream Factory".

luvsexy4all said:

Turn Me loose and the tracks on THAT album

I'm very interested in THAT one too. We saw the album cover in the backdrop on the Leno show.

kewlschool said:

There are so many, but you could also release fan picked ones where songs from a certain era were all bundled together. I would definitely get one of all his 1982 outtakes like The second coming, Lust u always, Purple Music, Moonbeam Levels (Seems redundant now), Do yourself a favour etc and make a 2 disc set called "Baby ure a trip for Purple Music".

.

Of made up albums - The July 18 1986 Version of Dream Factory needs to see the light of day, songs like All of My Dreams and a Place in Heaven need to see the full light of day, you could even lure in newbies by demonstrating the raw genius in these songs.

.

Camille not so much as 7 of the 8 songs got released and all u have left is Rebirth of the Flesh and the early version of Strange relationship.

.

The other one that needs to fly out is that 1989 version of Rave with songs like Fuschia Light, Cookie Jar and People without along with 1989 Rave and Moonbeam levels 89. Heck we could even release an album of Moonsound and Husney era demos to compete with multiple releases of 94 East.

Black is the new Black

.

(even if the songwriting isnt as great as in the 80s, thats what Prince wanted to release)

[Edited 12/1/16 17:47pm]